Thursday, January 19, 2012

I finally figured out how to make one of these super cool mosaics. Bighugelabs.com makes it so easy to turn your flickr favorites into a wonderful mosaic of projects with links to tutorials and blogs. Here is my first one...enjoy!

A dear friend of mine is turning 40 this month. I wanted to make her something special because she is so sweet and kind and very patient with my knitting. I would not be knitting if she wasn't around to help! She's been wanting to make a knitting needle case so I went ahead and made one for her...and while I was at it, I made a crochet needle case too. Did I mention that she crochets beautifully too! The top picture is the crochet needle case, the second picture is the knitting needle case, and the last picture is both cases rolled up.

Now, I think I'll make one for myself as I'm collecting quite a few knitting needles!

Last week, I found this lovely Pyrex cinderella bowl. The pattern is Shenandoah which came out in the 80s. It is one of the last American made patterns by Pyrex. This is a butter yellow color with green sweet pea type flowers and vines. Originally, this was sold in a set of 4 nesting bowls. This one is the smallest size. I have it next to my kitchen sink to remind of spring...which in January is hard to remember.

Monday, January 9, 2012

The weather outside feels like spring but it is only January. I have a strange feeling about this unusually warm winter. What is to come? Despite the warm weather, I was in the mood to make soup, so I did - Saint Antony Soup. The recipe is from the book, Twelve Months of Monastery Soups by Brother Victor-Antoine d'Avila-Latourrette. It is a lovely blend of pearl barley, carrots, leeks and parley simmered in vegetable (or chicken) stock. I know it doesn't sound like much but this soup is very filling, especially with some fresh bread. Perfect for a winter night... well, a normal January winter night! I love the way this kind of soup looks before cooking with all those lovely colors. But, it tastes so much better once simmered for about 45 minutes and the pearl barley is tender.

Beginning to cook...

and ready to eat!

I finished another sewing project for my friend's daughter. I call it a Doodads Bag. I was introduced to this bag by my friend, Vicki, who made them for my daughters. The inside of the bag has 4 ziplock bags on each side. They are so great for girls to put all their little doodads - jewelry, art supplies, doll accessories, Polly Pockets, and the list goes on and on. Why is it that girls have so many little things? I have a son too and the only "many little things" he has are Legos. My girls could use a few of these bags and they are so fun to make! I just might make some more Doodads Bags coordinating the fabric with whats going inside. For example, a Doodads Bag with doll fabric would be perfect for organizing American Girl accessories! I've added this project to Quilt Story Fabric Tuesday linky party.